It will be weeks before the full economic impact of the 2010 Florida freeze is known, but losses will likely top $1 billion with every agricultural sector experiencing damage. Florida citrus alone is a $9 billion annual industry and the state's other top agricultural revenue-generators -- greenhouse and nursery products, sugarcane and tomatoes -- all took a pounding from the recent record cold. Federally backed crop insurance is the silver lining that could mean the difference between solvency and bankruptcy for Florida growers affected by the freeze. The state's growers have a combined crop

Keith Wilson joined Flavor Tree Fruit Co. LLC in Hanford, CA, Jan. 1 as national retail sales manager, reporting to Maurice Cameron, the firm's global sales manager. "I am responsible for development of the domestic sales and marketing program," Mr. Wilson told The Produce News Jan. 12. The company is the exclusive sales agent for Warmerdam Packing, which grows and packs California cherries, white-flesh and yellow-flesh California peaches and white-flesh and yellow-flesh California nectarines, he said. He noted that Flavor Tree Fruit Co. is a new entity formed by Mr. Cameron in partnership

PELION, SC -- Walter P. Rawl & Sons Inc. in Pelion, SC, recently acquired a majority ownership stake in Mississippi Sweet Corn Producers Inc. in Indianola, MS. The acquisition more than doubles Rawl's current sweet corn volume. Effective Dec. 31, 2009, Rawl assumed the controlling interest of the vertically integrated Mississippi Delta grower-shipper that specializes in the production of sweet corn. The original stakeholders, all growers and landholders of Mississippi Sweet Corn Producers, will remain actively involved in the business, continuing to grow sweet corn and expand into year-round

SAVANNAH, GA -- Despite freezing weather that threatened crops across the region, a record number of attendees turned out for the 12th annual Southeastern Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference, held Jan. 7-10 at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center. When the first SEFVC was held in 1999, 583 attendees showed up. By this year, that number had bloomed to a record 2,249 growers, exhibitors, educators and legislators -- an increase of 5.4 percent over 2009 and the 10th consecutive year of increased attendance. SEFVC is sponsored by the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association

SAVANNAH, GA -- As is increasingly the case when members of the produce industry gather, food safety was top-of-mind at the 12th annual Southeastern Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference, held Jan. 7-10 at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center. The conference offered two days of educational sessions designed to help growers, shippers and transporters navigate the current maze of federal food-safety regulations and get ready for even more stringent guidelines certainly on the way from Washington, DC. The food-safety program kicked off Jan. 8 with a GAP audit session, then touched

The cheerful, booming voice of Bob Strube will be heard no more. Robert William Frederick Strube Sr. died Jan. 14 at age 91. He headed Strube Celery & Vegetable Co. in Chicago, which was founded in 1913 by Fred Strube. In addition to leading many national industry advancement causes, he may be best remembered for relentless, years-long leadership that eventually built a modern produce market for Chicago. "The industry truly lost a giant today," Tom Stenzel, president of United Fresh Produce Association, said on United's website. "Bob's can-do, never-give-up attitude helped build both a family